A/N: This story is my way of saying goodbye to my Shepard. It started out as her tale in ME3, then it grows bigger, and now it covers all three games in the series. It's big. It's separated into three parts. It's meant for my own benefits to get over the ending, but as it grows, I thought I should share, especially for those of us who loves Shepard, Kaidan, and Garrus. And no, it's not a love triangle, relax.

I'm sorry about any typos or mistakes. I don't have any betas for the story. It's directly from me to you.

Also, quick note, if you're here because of The Rose of Highever, I'm very sorry to say Alistair/Cousland tale is still on hold. The reason is listed on my profile, so I won't take up much space to explain. I'm so sorry to disappoint you.

Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to Bioware.

Part I: The Rise of a Legend

Prologue

Year: 2186CE

Location: Alliance Headquarters, Vancouver

This was not a standard Alliance office.

The room was decorated to resemble a comfortable living quarters, where two women sat across from each other, both in comfortable armchairs with a coffee table between them.

But Shepard was not fooled by the illusion. This was hardly a social call, and she was still very much trapped within the Alliance headquarters. How long had it been? Five months?

The seemingly friendly woman sitting across from her was assigned to evaluate her psychological condition – Doctor Troy she was called. Shepard hated these sessions as much as she hated those meetings she had with the defense committee, both were useless in her not so humble opinion. But there was nothing she hated more than spending those endless hours in the interrogation room ever since she had surrendered both herself and her Normandy to the Alliance. How many times did she have to answer the same questions over and over again before she became insane? Or perhaps the interrogators were the insane ones, because if she recalled correctly, the definition of insanity was to repeat the same action and expecting different results.

More than once, Shepard wondered if she should have listened to Miranda and Garrus – her left and right hands through thick and thin. Instead of turning herself in and being tied down by the bureaucracy, she could have used her ship and her crew to fight the Reapers. Or as Garrus would have put it, to do some good in this galaxy before they went out in a blaze of glory. But Shepard's conscience had gotten the better of her; she had to do the right thing, to warn the Alliance about the Reaper's inevitable invasion. And as both Miranda and Garrus had predicted, the Alliance didn't listen.

When had they ever listened to her? Shepard snorted at that thought.

"Aerin," Dr. Troy called out for her attention.

First name basis. Shepard didn't bother correct the doctor. After all, she'd seen this woman more than she'd seen anyone else. Except for Vega, her glorified jail guard.

"Last time we talked about Saren and Sovereign," the doctor started. "How about if we change the topic this time, and talk about the people you have worked with instead?"

She had a feeling where this was going, and she did not like to talk about that topic a bit. Keeping her cool composure, Shepard's bright blue eyes landed onto the doctor's dark brown ones and held her gaze, silently challenging her to bring on the topic.

Undaunted by her look and her silence, Dr. Troy continued, "Tell me about Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

So, she starts out with the easy one first, Shepard thought, holding back any traces of emotions. She would play this game with the doctor, but it would be on her terms.

"A quarian on her pilgrimage," Shepard replied. "She had data about Saren and Benezia that proved Saren to be the traitor, and his intention was to use the Reapers to invade the galaxy." Her answer gave Troy nothing but facts, facts that no doubt were listed on the doctor's datapad.

"So you took a young quarian with you to chase down Saren?"

"Who knows more about Geth than a quarian?"

"What about Urdnot Wrex?"

"I don't know about you, Doctor, but when a krogan battlemaster offered his assistance, I wasn't about to turn him down."

The doctor glanced at her datapad. "He stayed with you even after you destroyed the cure for genophage in Virmire. How did you convince him to continue working with you?"

Virmire... She could feel an increase of her heart rate at that word. Still, Shepard was able to maintain her composure with practiced ease. She shifted into a more comfortable position before answering, "I've my share of negotiations done under gunpoint, Urdnot Wrex was just another one."

"What about Dr. Liara T'Soni?"

"Prothean expert, Matriarch Benezia's only daughter. Without her help, we would never have located the conduit in time to stop Saren." Again, nothing but facts the doctor had already known.

"She was with you when you killed her mother?"

"Yes. Benezia gained enough control of herself to say goodbye to her daughter. Not all of us get to say goodbye to our loved ones when we die. I should know."

The doctor made a note on her datapad before she asked her next question, "What about Garrus Vakarian?"

Shepard hid a smile at that name. What about Garrus? So many things she could say, but none of which she wanted to share. "Former C-Sec officer who used to investigate on Saren. One hell of a shot."

"He helped you twice. The first time three years ago to hunt down Saren, and then again a few months back to fight the Collectors. Same goes for Tali'Zohar. It's quite amazing how both of them were willing to lay down their lives for you, not once, but twice. How would you describe your relationships with them?"

Shepard looked straight into the doctor's eyes. "Have you ever been in combat, Doctor? Or in any life threatening situations where your life is in someone else's hand?"

"I can't say I have."

"Then there is no way I can truly describe my relationships with them in a way you'd understand. That type of bonds cannot be described properly."

"I see."

And then there were only two left. Shepard quietly braced herself.

"Tell me about Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."

Shepard's throat felt dry. She reached for a glass of water and took a sip, buying her enough time to compose herself before she answered, "Williams was a fine soldier. We stopped Saren's potential krogan slavery army because of her."

"Back on Virmire, you had to make a choice."

Despite her restraint, Shepard's jaws clenched, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I stand by my report. It's somewhere on my file."

"Fair enough..." And finally, after all that dancing around the issue, the doctor asked, "What can you tell me about then-Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko?"

Although Shepard saw this coming and had mentally prepared herself for the question, her hand still unconsciously went to touch her hair. She almost stopped herself from the action, knowing she had probably betrayed her own feelings by this tiny slip up, but stopping in the middle would be more obvious. She completed the swift motion of tugging her hair behind her ear and replied without a hint of emotion on her face, "Alenko's file is on the official Alliance record. If it's classified, then obviously I'm not at the liberty of releasing any information even if I know."

"How would you describe your relationship with him?"

Shepard took a subtle deep breath and chose her words very carefully. "There is none."

The doctor studied her with a gentle smile. "It's okay, Shepard. If the major were to be prosecuted with fraternization, he would have been charged three years ago."

Shepard didn't need the doctor to tell her that. She knew that they would not be charged with fraternization after saving the damn galaxy. She had even told Kaidan about it the night before Ilos.

The night before Ilos... Shepard had to be extra careful to mask her expression well when her thoughts ventured towards the man in the spotlight.

"Alenko is an Alliance soldier through and through. He's one of the best I've the honor to work with. But we disagreed on some issues and went our separate ways." The best lie often contained some degree of truth.

She had to protect Kaidan, no matter what.

"I see," said the doctor. "Why don't we switch the subject a little. Tell me about your time on the Normandy."

With the spotlight switched away from her biggest weakness, Shepard relaxed and flashed a tiny smirk. "Which one?"

"Let's start with the first one."

A/N: Thanks for reading!

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